[shahirakk]

back in london now and trying to figure out the best place to live with a 5 month old.Husband's office in Central.

What do you all think??

your advice would be really helpful

Shahira

[barbwong_130]

Will you have a car while in Hong Kong?

If not then Mid-levels is much easier to get to and from. There are loads of bus and minibuses and taxis are about $25 to Central. There is also the escalator which is great.

The beach in Repulse Bay is nice for a little one to play on. But Mid-levels has lots of parks near by. There are the large ones like Hong Kong Park and the Botanical Gardens and loads of more local ones. I know your baby is only 5 months but before you know it he will be talking and walking and enjoying a daily visit to the park.

I live in Mid-levels and my little ones used to love going on park crawls. We would see how many parks we could play in during one afternoon. If you include a few sitting out areas the most we managed was 12.

Best wishes,
Barb

[shahirakk]

Thanks for the message Barb,

I am a bit concerned about the move and wonder what there is to do with a young child in HK. Everyone I met told me there were loads of activities for babies and children but I have to say I was looking at accomodation and didnt have a chance to investigate everything!

In London, we do baby massage, baby yoga, rhyme time and the library all for FREE. Also go to Gymboree and we wanted to start "water babies" swimming classes- I did go along to Gymboree HK which wasn't as good as in London.

What did you find the most fun?

In terms of groups that meet up - were there any good baby/mother groups in Mid Levels?

So many questions - Any ideas would be really appreciated

Shahira

[Keryn]

Mid Levels is great if you are a young couple - loads of bars and night life and your husband can get to work in 20 mins..... but the pollution on that side of the island is dreadful and a nightmare to get around with a pram.

The south side of the Island has better weather - due to the topography of HK, so it is FAR cleaner and clearer.

Repulse Bay is great as it has the best Western Supermarket on the Island - without going to the rip offs like CitySuper and Olivers (you'll know them soon enough!)

There are some wonderful serviced appartments called "Park View" which half way between the two. It is in the clean air zone, had fantastic baby facilities and loads of families. They do short term rents and I would recommend you base yourself somewhere like this for 6 months until you settle in. Most rents tie you down for 2 years and you don't need that right now.

Keryn

[mandz]

Hi

I agree about basing yourself at Parkview. Being here in a serviced apartment gives you a chance to settle in a spend some time discovering where are the great spots to live.
The childrens facilities here are good, although if I was to compare to home they would be good but different.

Have been here almost a month and have enrolled my 7 mth old in Kindermusik, swimming and have just started a coffee group that you are welcome to join when you arrive.

Spent yesterday afternoon at Repulse Bay (5 min drive from Parkview) and it was fantastic. There is a nice walk that goes from Repulse around to another bay. Supermarket there is also VERY good. We have one up here at Parkview that is also good.

Families that I have met here at Parkview, came here first to get a feel for where to live and loved it so much they stayed. I think I'd be heading to Repulse or Stanley myself. Who knows the pools here when the heat picks up may be a huge draw card!!

Good luck

[shahirakk]

Hi Amanda
We're in REpulse Bay now. Would love to meet up? Can we post email addresses here?

[rani]

Shahira,

Welcome to HK! Best to exchange emails via PM.

[ontheroad]

Repulse Bay is amazing with kids, I can't believe any one would hesitate one second between there and Mid-Levels. There is no pollution in RB, and you are in the city in twenty minutes with any buses...
There are busses all the time, and they're really cheap!